“Since the IDEOS launch five months ago, so far over 60,000 pieces have been sold and we are moving towards the 100,000 piece mark with its share of the local smartphone market at 45% in the first quarter of the year, making it the top selling device with February alone reaching 73%,” said Huawei’s CEO, Herman He in a statement.

Huawei's IDEOS

The $100 Android phone has likely been a hit in the East African country due to the following factors:

Its affordability made it within reach of Kenyans, giving them the option of having a cost effective phone with premium features. The phone runs on Android 2.2 with a touch screen, has up to 16GB storage and has the ability to be transformed into a 3G Wi-Fi hostpot that can connect up to 8 devices. Currently, Kenyans have access to all these features and more for a hundred dollars or less.

In addition, its strategic partnership with leading Kenyan telecommunications firm, Safaricom as the phone’s main distributor and marketer also likely helped facilitate its fast adoption.

At present, most cellular phone users in Kenya use feature and low end phones. IDEOS’ fast adoption rate in the country could hopefully boost smart phone adoption rates by making it accessible to Kenyans who had previously been priced out of the market.